


What About Us?

by Whambamthanksbatfam



Series: Lost in the Past, Found in the Future? [9]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Aftermath of Violence, Birthday, Brotherly Bonding, Brotherly Love, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Injury, Mother-Son Relationship, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Punishment, Torture, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2018-04-29
Packaged: 2019-04-29 22:37:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14482716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whambamthanksbatfam/pseuds/Whambamthanksbatfam
Summary: Damian hated the punishments.But…He failed.He needed to do better.He was unacceptably weak tonight.He let his morals get in the way of his job.





	What About Us?

Damian was on a mission. Many people did not know this, but Damian’s mother, Talia al Ghul, was not a member of the League of Shadows. She let her own group, Leviathan. Leviathan frequently allies with the League of Shadows, but they are separate entities. Damian was assigned this by his mother and his Grandfather approved, figuring Damian would enjoy something to do. He was right. Damian jumped from rooftop to rooftop and was having the time of his life. He wore his league armor and was listening to the noise of the city. Damian missed the silence of the compound, but this noise meant he was free.

 

After 20 minutes, Damian arrived at his destination. His mission was to confirm one of the contacts, Mr. Remedy a.k.a. Robespur, was okay. Damian slid in the window. He was met with irony smell of blood. “Robespur. Where are you?” It was said that Quietus, a man trying to take over Leviathan, tried to kill Robespur. Damian heard a groan, and followed it into a bedroom. 

“Ibn,” he asked.

“It is I,” Damian said. The man breathed a sigh of relief.

“He blew up the building. I barely made it--” Robespur was interrupted by a coughing fit. Damian helped the man up and radioed his helicopter. It was to send the man back to Leviathan Orbital Headquarters for help. Damian could feel a shadow as he sat Robespur on a couch, but he ignored it. If the shadow attacked, Damian would take care of it.

 

The helicopter came soon and Damian had the man loaded quickly. After that, he started his trek home. Damian began to jump across the rooftops once again. Eventually, he stopped and through a knife at his shadow. Damian heard a familiar cry of pain. One he had elicited many times. “Drake?” Damian turned around to see Red Robin on the ground with a knife in his abdomen. Damian rolled his eyes and walked towards Tim. He grabbed Tim’s comm.

“Come in, anyone,” Damian said calmly while he assed Tim’s wound.  

“ _ This is Oracle. Da- I mean Hafid?” _ Damian’s name was also Hafid al Ghul which means ‘Grandson of the Ghoul,’ but he preferred Ibn al Xu'ffasch which means ‘Son of the Bat.’ They used Hadid as a codename.

“Yes. Red Robin is down. We need transportation.”

_ “Transportation is on its way. How’d he get hurt? What are you even doing out there? Nightwing’s been looking for you. I called him off.” _ Damian rolled his eyes.

“Red Robin thought concealing himself from an assassin was a smart idea and my business here is not your business, Oaf.”

_ “What?” _

“Oaf.”

_ “I’m Oracle.” _

“You are Oaf.”

_ “How do you figure that?” _

“I’ve heard of your business with Misfit.”

_ “Well-- She-- I--” _

“She is a close acquaintance of mine and I do not appreciate your treatment of her.”

_ “Da-Hafid. I-- _ ”

“Goodbye,” Damian interrupted her and took Tim’s comm off. “Red Robin,” Damian said. Tim groaned.

“Damian?”

“Names,” Damian smirked.

“You stabbed me,” Tim said angrily.

“You thought you could hide from me. Your level of stealth is child’s play.”

“Why’d you stab me!?”

“I thought you were someone else.”

“Who?”

“None of your business.”

“You owe me that much.”

“I owe you stealth lessons,” Damian said, mimicking Tim’s tone.

“Why were you here anyway? Who was that man?”

“That is also none of your concern.”

“Were you doing something illegal?”

“No, but it would upset Father to know with whom I associated.”

“Who?” Damian smirked. 

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” Tim sat up slowly. Damian had just finished removing the knife and bandaging the wound.

“C’mon, tell me something.”

“I was helping Mother.”

“And,” Tim said as he gestured for Damian to continue.

“An enemy of Father was being assisted.” The whites of Tim’s mask widened. He was about to respond when the Batmobile pulled up below. Damian helped Tim into the Batmobile then got in himself. Barbara had it on auto-drive, so they just sat and waited during the thirty minute drive home.

“Damian,” Dick sighed in relief when they got home. “I thought we agreed you’d leave a note if you left without telling us.”

“I apologize, Grayson. I forgot.” Tim was on a cot with Alfred stitching him up.

“What happened to Timmy?”

“Demon stabbed me,” Tim yelled. Dick walked over with Damian in tow.

“What?”

“Drake was following me, and I thought he was someone else, so I threw a knife at him.”

“You are insane!” Tim was still mad.

“I didn’t kill you. My plan was to find out who you were, why you were following me, ask you why you were stupid enough to try and follow me, torture you, then kill you.” 

“Dami,” Dick yelped.

“He’s trying to hurt Bruce too, Dick.” 

“I would cause no harm to Father. I was on a mission helping someone who is an enemy of Father.”

“Why would you do that,” Dick asked.

“He is an ally of my Mother.”

“Still,” Tim insisted.

“He would have died, Drake. I had to help him. I sent him to get medical care.” Dick couldn’t help but be proud at that.

“Aww, Dami. You helped someone? I’m so proud of you!” Dick gave him a hug. Damian blushed. “How is that wrong, Timmy? Bruce doesn’t kill.”

“That guy, whoever he was, is probably going to try to kill Bruce later.”

“He won’t. Mother loves Father too much to let anyone hurt him, let alone kill him. He’d be in a world of pain if he did.”

“Who was he,” Tim asked.

“I will not disclose that. Why were you following me, Drake?”

“I saw you leave, so I followed to see what you were doing.” Tim got up and winced.

“Learn to mind your own and you may not get stabbed, Drake,” Damian sneered.

“Dami,” Dick chided. That’s when Batman came storming in.

“Damian,” he growled. “What did you do?” Damian did his best not to shrink into himself.

“I--”

“You let him go. Why?” 

“H-he was hurt. He needed medical attention.”

“So you returned him?” Damian decided he’d had enough of his father making him out to be a criminal.

“Yes, Father. You have yet to acknowledge the fact that I didn’t kill him. He helped raise a rebellion against Mother. I should have killed him. I’ll be punished for not killing him, you know.” Bruce was silent. He didn’t know what to say. “Despite what you all think, I am good. There is more than one way to be good. I just don’t follow your way.”

“He could have been useful for intel.”

“My goal was not to gather you information,” Damian said evenly. 

“Go to your room,” Bruce said, trying to keep his cool.

“Gladly,” Damian said as he traipsed up the steps.

… 

Damian was told to go a warehouse somewhere in Gotham. It was most likely punishment from Leviathan, not the League, so it wouldn’t be too bad. Damian snuck out his bedroom door, leaving a note this time, and went to the location.

 

“Mother,” Damian said as he bowed. Talia was surrounded by some of her men and Damian’s cousin, Mara.

“Damian,” she said coldly. “You failed.” Damian nodded in agreement. “A duel will decide your fate. Mara,” Talia called. 

 

Mara stepped up. She didn’t look happy. She didn’t want to have to fight Damian. Every time they did, both of them ended up getting hurt, and it was usually her who got the worst of it. Ra’s thought it would be a good exercises, though. If she lost, she’d have a punishment from Ra’s too. Mara was older than Damian by a few years, but he was a much better fighter than her. She didn’t understand it really. She was taller and older, but he somehow was stronger and fought like he had more experience than he did. His training was harder than hers too. He’d surpassed where she was when he was 9. It embarrassed her, but it made sense. Hafid al Ghul had to be better, he was Heir to the Demon, after all. When they weren’t pitted against each other, Damian and Mara had fun together. They’d read and discuss books, make plans for Demon’s fist, and just enjoy each other’s company.

 

Mara couldn’t think about that right now.

 

Mara had to win. She and Damian squared up and bowed. Then, they took battle positions. Mara struck first, but Damian easily dodged her. Damian then tried to strike her but she, like him, dodged it. After a minute of that Talia had one of her men shoot a barrage of poison darts. Damian dodged them all, but Mara got hit by one in the torso. Now she wouldn't be able to get out of the way of Damian’s attacks easily.

 

Damian didn’t want to hurt Mara. He never did, but he wasn’t going to fail his mother twice. Mara hadn’t beat Damian in sparring since he was three. It was one time, and, after his punishment, Damian swore it would never happen again. 

 

The problem with Mara, in Damian’s opinion, was that she was too weak. Her will, though strong, was nothing compared to Damian’s indomitable one. Every time they fought, she let memories of their camaraderie drop an ounce of emotion into her mind. That was why she lost. Damian knew how to block memories out. Compartmentalization was one of his many specialties, so this never plagued him. He didn’t even let memoirs of himself and Mara touch his mind. 

 

They fought for another minute before Damian beat Mara. He didn’t kill her. He nerve struck her and finished. Talia’s icy look still hadn’t changed. Damian knew what was next, so he didn’t have to be told. He took his shirt off and kneeled facing the wall. This was the League of Assassins punishment part of tonight. The part Damian hated the most. 

 

_ Crack. _ The whip felt like an infinite amount of tiny glass shards burning into Damian’s golden back. He could feel it break skin. The red plasma oozing out of the reopened scars and sliding down his back onto the gray floor. 

Damian hated the punishments. 

But… 

_ He failed. _

 

_ He needed to do better. _

 

_ He was unacceptably weak tonight. _

 

_ He let his morals get in the way of his job. _

 

A fist connected with Damian’s face. He did as he knew he was supposed to and didn’t move. He didn’t cry.

 

He didn’t even flinch. Then, the man hit Damian in the throat. He fought the need to gasp for breath.

 

His face was indifferent. A kick to the gut sent Damian flying into the wall. He still didn’t make a sound. The only thing one could hear was the cracking of Damian’s bones. Damian peeled himself off the floor and went back to his original spot and kneeled again. It was brought out. Damian’s head was pushed into the water. He held his breath for as long as he could, but he was still under. His lungs burned. They felt hotter than the sun. He didn’t fight back because that would make it last longer. Damian was about to blackout when he was finally picked up and thrown across the room. Once again, Damian returned to his original position. 

 

His mother walked up and slapped him in the face. The force of it knocked Damian down. “Do better,” she said evenly and they left. Damian’s body hurt, but he found a way to pick himself up and carry himself out of the warehouse.

 

Damian was resting on top of a building. He needed to figure out where to go. He didn’t want to go home in this condition. He didn’t know what his father may do, but Helen was out of town on a Psychiatry convention, so he had no other choice. 

 

Damian got back up. It was painful, but he didn’t make a sound. Nothing was allowed to break him. He jumped to the next rooftop flawlessly despite his injuries. He was always taught that injuries should not hinder him. That no matter what, he was to have perfect form until he physically couldn’t, and there was no limit to Damian’s will. His indomitable will helped him complete great feats no matter his condition. 

 

He kept jumping rooftop to rooftop, until he climbed down one and began to walk home. The walk was long, but he distracted himself by analyzing what he did wrong in his last test, and how he could prevent from happening next time. He didn’t like the punishments, but he hated disappointing his mother and grandfather worse. 

 

They said they were proud of him, and he didn’t want to lose that. He needed it. It drove him to train harder and fight harder and work harder. It made him want to get the best out of himself. He wanted to be as great a man as his grandfather one day, but he knew that took work, training, and commitment. 

 

Damian arrived at the manor in about two hours. He was exhausted, but he didn’t go through the front door. Alfred would catch him then. He slipped into the cave. Dick was at the computer inputting his files for the night, but didn’t notice him. Damian carefully grabbed some medical supplies and put it into a nearby bag. He would have to do it in his bedroom. Once everything was collected, he carefully went up to his room. 

 

The first thing Damian did was strip down to his undershirt and briefs. Next, he neatly laid out all the medically supplies in the order he was going to use them in on his desk. Once everything was in place, Damian began.

 

He started with his side. There was a long gash there that needed sewing up, it was bleeding badly. Damian sewed it up carefully. He put a towel in his mouth to keep himself from biting his tongue off. He could feel tear prickling his eyes as he pushed the needle and thread through his skin in a pattern, but he blinked them back. Once that was done, he applied antiseptic to the superficial wounds and wrapped his torso gingerly.

 

After that, Damian cracked his nose back in place and bandaged it, he’d take it off before he left this room. He was finally able to breathe normally again. He’d had to breathe through his mouth before. Then, Damian moved on to his shoulder. He was pretty sure it was dislocated. He stood up, positioned himself, then slammed his shoulder into his bathroom door jam. The pain was nearly unbearable, but Damian go through it. He rotated his arm a bit to ensure he relocated his arm right.

 

Damian then set and wrapped his ankle. He cleaned up the medical supplies and disposed of them. He was pretty sure he inhaled some water, but there was nothing he could do about that. 

 

Damian was also 99.99% sure he had a major concussion, so the last thing he had to do was sneak downstairs and get ice. He cracked his door open, and saw no one. He swiftly ran to the kitchen, retrieved ice soundlessly, and went back into his room. Damian put the ice to his head and made a small sigh of relief. He held the ice there until it melted mostly then got dressed and went to bed.

 

He laid down in his bed carefully, not wanting to bust any stitches or cause anymore distress. He was done, so he could finally breathe easily and just sleep. He decided that he could train after lunch tomorrow and do his school work first. It would give him a few more hours to recover. Finally, he let his mind go blank and went to sleep. 

…

After Jason got back to the cave and showered. He headed to Damian’s room like he usually did. He went in and saw the usual Damian-sized bump. Jason heard wheezing. When he saw Damian in the light, he could see the boy’s lip was busted and he had a bandage on his head and nose. “Damian,” he said worriedly. The boy didn’t move. Damian heard Jason, but elected to stay asleep. Jason came and sat by Damian’s head. He ran thumb across Damian’s nose. “Damian, wake up,” Jason said, a little louder than his first call. 

“Todd,” he slurred. Jason turned the light on and took the covers of Damian. He saw all the bandages and cuts and bruises. 

“What happened,” Jason said, concerned for his little brother. Damian squinted at Jason then blocked the light from his eyes with his less injured arm. Jason touched his torso gingerly. Damian hissed in pain.

“Todd, stop… hurts.” Damian did not feel like waking up fully enough to use proper sentences.

“Damian, what happened?” Damian closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep. “Damian, stay awake for me, buddy.” Damian groaned. “We gotta make sure you’re okay.”

“M’fine.” Jason scoffed and sat Damian up and laid him against the headboard. Damian closed his eyes. He didn’t have the energy or will to stay awake.

“Damian, c’mon. Work with me.” Jason sounded worried. He pried Damian’s eyes open and shined a light in them. He was assessing Damian’s injuries. “What happened?”  Jason picked him up carefully and began to walk to the cave. 

“M’fine, Todd… lemme sleep.”

“No you’re not. I think you have a concussion, you can’t sleep yet. Why didn’t you call me? I would have come and gotten you.” Damian groaned and accepted the fact that Jason was not going to leave him alone.

“Took care of it.” Jason sighed. Damian closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep. 

“Damian, you can’t do that. Open your eyes. What if you had some internal bleeding or something?” Damian opened his eyes halfway. He was too tired and in too much pain to do this right now.

“Grandfather taught me how to check for that,” Damian whispered. Jason gestured for Damian to open the clock, so the boy did.

“Bruce,” Jason yelled.

“No need to yell, Jay,” Dick said turning around. “What happened,” he freaked out when he saw Damian. They boy had closed his eyes again during the trip down the stairs.

“I don’t know,” Jason said. Dick went up to them and rubbed his hand across Damian’s busted lip, and Damian opened his eyes.

“What happened, Little D?”

“Nothing, m’fine.” Damian tried to get out of Jason’s grip, but the man wasn’t letting him go. 

“Take him to the infirmary,” Dick said. “Bruce, c’mere.” Bruce came over to the infirmary, and Tim came with him when he heard all the commotion. Jason had set Damian on one of the cots.

“What happened,” Bruce asked.

“ _ Nothing _ ,” Damian said in Arabic. He really didn’t feel like running a sentence through his mind’s translator.  Damian noncomittedly shrugged and laid down on the cot.

“That’s not nothing,” Tim exclaimed pointing at Damian’s many wounds. “Wait, you can still speak English right?” Damian thought for a minute, and decided messing with Tim wouldn’t be in his best interest.

“You’re so dense,” he said to Tim. Everyone in the room let out a big breath after that.

“Damian, I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a million times, you can’t sleep,” Jason said. He pulled the boy upright.

“Tim, get Alfred,” Bruce commanded. Tim went quickly. “Damian, we know something happened. Tell us what.” 

“ _ Nothing happened. Leave me alone. _ ” Dick and Jason rolled their eyes. Bruce sighed and ran a hand down his face.

“You can go back to bed after Alfred checks you over.” Alfred came in right on cue.

“ _ Todd… my ribs. _ ” Jason let him down, but kept a special eye on him. He didn’t want the boy to fall asleep.

“Master Damian,” Alfred said, shocked. He began to check Damian over. Damian just wanted to sleep. He had an appointment with his grandfather in several hours, and he wanted some rest before it. 

“Who patched you up,” Tim asked. Damian didn’t answer. 

“Damian,” Bruce said.

“ _ I did _ ,” Damian said. All the boys stood frozen.

“How? That’s not possible with the injuries you sustained,” Tim said.

“ _ I’m not like you all. I was taught to not let injuries hinder my abilities. _ ”

“Dami, you could’ve asked us to help you.”

“ _ No need. _ ”

“Was this Talia,” Bruce asked scarily quiet. Damian didn’t answer. “Damian, was this from some kind of failed test?”

“ _ I should have done better. _ ” Damian hissed in pain when Alfred touched his left arm.

“How long,” Bruce asked.

“ _ 26 seconds. I should have been done in 20. _ ” Bruce looked mad. He walked away to cool off. Damian kept resisting when Alfred poked and prodded him.

“Damian, stop,” Jason said firmly. Damian reluctantly obeyed. They all sounded disappointed. Damian hated to be a disappointment. It seems like he failed everyone today. Alfred went to fix some tea and Bruce called the boys, sans Damian, over. “Stay here,” Jason said, softer than his earlier command. 

 

Damian knew he wasn’t supposed to, but he so wanted to sleep. He decided he couldn’t disappoint them more than he already had, so he laid down on the cot and drifted off. The boys came back in and freaked out at Damian sleeping. “Dami,” Dick half-yelled.

“M’fine, Grayson,” Damian said, his voice muffled from the pillow.

“You can’t sleep,” Dick said.

“I have the ability to and I will,” Damian said defiantly, then closed his eyes again. That’s when Dick pulled him into a sitting up position. “Grayson, stop,” Damian, his voice was strained from trying to mask the pain. Dick put him back down.

“You won’t sleep. Not yet.”

“I’m tired.”

“That’s a symptom of a concussion, which I know you know you have.”

“It’s also a symptom of not having slept in the past 24 hours.”

“It’s okay, Mini Hood,” Jason chimed in.

“No it’s not,” Damian grumbled.

“Tell you what,” Jason said, “You get past all of us, you can go to bed.” Damian smirked. This would be easy. He jumped into the sky and flipped over Dick. He then kept running until Tim got in his way. He jumped and nerve struck Tim mid-air before making it to the stairs. Jason almost caught him, but he got away just in time. He got to the doorway and left the cave. The boys stood in shock for a minute. 

“Jason,” Dick whined.

“I thought we could take him.” Jason and Dick went after Damian.

… 

Damian’s injuries hurt worse now, and he was pretty sure he busted the stitches in his left forearm, but he didn’t care. He limped back to his room and got in bed. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. He woke up to Dick tapping his cheek. “Grayson, stop.”

“Dami, Jay didn’t think you’d actually beat us. We need you to come back down.”

“That is not just. I will not tolerate the nullification of our verbal contract. I am staying here and sleeping.” Damian turned on his uninjured side and tried to go back to sleep. Dick kept begging him to get up, so he figured if he faked sleep long enough, they’d leave.

“Dami…”

“He could be out cold, Dickiebird.” Dick’s eyes widened. He tried to wake Damian up, but the boy wouldn’t. Now he was worried. 

“Dami…” Dick would not let Damian sleep. He was considering going to Charlie’s to sleep his injuries off. Damian decided dire measures needed to be taken. He would have to cry. 

“Grayson,” Damian whined, “Hurts…” Dick picked him up. Damian would have to be more realistic. He whimpered when Dick stood up and quivered his lip.

“Uhh, Dick,” Jason warned. Then Damian began crying and blubbering that he wanted to sleep.  _ Of course he chose now to decide it’s okay to cry, _ Jason thought. 

“Dami, it’s okay.” Dick tried to soothe him, but Damian just cried harder. “Shhh,” Dick consoled him, but the boy didn’t stop. Dick handed a mumbling Damian to Jason and went to get Alfred.

“C’mon, Mini Hood. Please stop.” Damian’s sobbing didn’t cease. 

“Todd… hurts… m’tired.” Jason tried to hold Damian firmly without bothering his injuries too much.

“I know, Mini Hood.” Damian was still crying. “Shhh,” Jason said as he patted Damian’s back soothingly. 

“Todd… hurts,” Damian whimpered.  

“I know. You’re okay.” Damian wasn’t crying as hard now. The tears were more silent, but he did sniffle. “Okay, here’s the deal. You can sleep, but you have to let us hook you up to the vital signs reader.” Damian sniffled while he considered that, and decided to accept. He instantaneously dried up his tears, and went to sleep in Jason’s arms.

“The little faker,” Jason yelled, mad that he was tricked. Dick put a finger to his mouth as he walked in and they began the trek to the cave. Apparently, fake crying is okay because it is induced and not from actually emotion.

“How did he do that,” Dick whispered.

“Skill and dedication,” Jason said bitterly. Jason sat Damian on the cot he was on before, and hooked him up to the machines. He covered the boy up with a blanket, then laid on the cot next to Damian’s and Dick headed back to Bludhaven. 

… 

When Jason woke up, Damian was gone. He shot up and looked for the boy. “Mini Hood,” he called out.

“Todd,” Damian mimicked. Jason found him training in front of an iPad, then he saw Ra’s.  _ Whoops! _

“Jason, I see you are still doing well,” Ra’s said. Jason couldn’t telli it was evil or loving.

“Hi, Ra’s.” Jason looked at Damian training. His form was perfect and all his bandages were gone. Had he took them off for his grandfather? Jason watched for 20 minutes. 

“That will be all, Damian.” Ra’s hung up. Damian immediately collapsed on the floor. Jason rushed to his side. Damian laid on the mat breathing heavily.

“You okay,” Jason asked. Damian didn’t answer, still trying to breathe. “Here, breathe in: 1… 2… 3, good, now out: 3… 2… 1…”  Jason got a water bottle, sat Damian up, and leaned the boy against himself. He handed Damian the water bottle and the boy drank the whole thing in seconds. “Why’d you do that? You’re injured.” Damian’s breathing was better, but his voice was pained.

“He needed to see my progress.”

“It couldn’t wait?”   
“That’s not relevant. Ra’s wanted to see it then, so I showed it to him at the time he wanted. Excuses are unacceptable.” 

“Being injured is not an excuse,” Jason said softly.

“Lack of skill or performance on my part does not constitute an emergency, rescheduling, or inconveniencing on anyone else’s part.” Damian took his shirt off and pressed it to his torso. 

“Did you burst your stitches,” Jason questioned. Damian nodded and got up slowly to go the infirmary. His balance was off, so Jason helped guide him. He’d have to rip them all out and start over. “Let me help.” Damian shook his head. He knew if he spoke only sobs would come out. He grabbed tweezers and ripped the rest of the stitches out. “Damian! Let me get some anesthetic first!” Damian shook his head again and began to sew new stitches. These were exactly the same as the last ones. Damian had to rebandage all of his other injuries too. When he was done, he walked up the stairs to do his school work. “Mini Hood, c’mon.” Jason was following Damian. “Just rest a bit, it won’t hurt anything.”

“Todd,” Damian said, his voice strained. “Please leave me be.” 

“No, Damian. You’re hurting yourself.” Damian walked in front of his door.

“I am fine.” Damian walked into his room, and Jason heard a thump. He ran into the room to see Talia and Damian and a giant box. Talia gave Damian a light hug and led him to sit on the bed with her.

“Ibn.” She hated to see her boy hurt, but she had to be strong. Her father was just doing his best to make Damian great, and she understood that.

“I will do better next time.” She smiled.

“I know you will. Hello, Jason.” Jason blushed, he felt like he was intruding.

“Talia.” Jason was still mad at her for last night.

“I came to bring your gift, my love,” Talia said excitedly as she hugged Damian lightly.

“For what,” Jason asked.

“His birthday,” Talia said happily. Damian blushed as he hugged his mother back. He didn’t hold the punishment against her. It was his Grandfather trying to make him better.

“Really,” Jason said, “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

“It is not important.”

“Yes it is,” Talia disagreed.

“Thank you for visiting, Mother,” Damian said softly.

“Father could never keep me away from you today, and he knows that.” Damian smiled. She was careful not to hurt him anymore than he already is. 

“Shouldn’t he rest?” Jason figured if the boy’s mother agreed then he would.

“Is your training finished,” she asked in her authoritative monotone. Damian nodded. “And your schooling?”

“Done,” Damian whispered. 

“I’ll be back for you later,” she said. Talia gave him a kiss on the forehead and left. That was her way of telling him to rest.  

“Happy Birthday,” Jason chuckled. “You should have told us.”

“It is unimportant.” There was a pang sound on Damian’s window. They looked up and saw Charlie beaming and holding a cake. 

“How’d she find out?”

“She asked.” Damian smirked. Jason went and opened the window.

“Hi,” she said happily. “Happy Birthday!” Her smile fell. “What happened? How’d you get hurt?” She ran to his side. 

“It’s nothing,” Damian said. She nodded and figured she’d ask him later.  

“Well, how’s it feel to be 11? On my eleventh birthday we went to a skating rink. It was so fun,” she sighed.

“What are you going to be doing?”

“Mother is coming back for me later.”

“Cool! What’re you guys gonna do?”

“I do not know, she said she wanted to surprise me.”

“I have an idea of what you guys can do until then,” Jason said.

“Ooh what?” Charlie was excited.

“You all should watch a movie,” Jason matched her excitement. Damian groaned, he had a headache and did not want to look at a screen. This was Jason’s ploy to make him rest.

“Yes!” Charlie had her mind made up now. 

“I’ll have Alfred make some popcorn.” Jason walked out. Charlie sat by Damian when Jason left.

“What happened?” She was referring to his injuries.

“I failed a test.”

“Oh,” she said sadly. “Are you okay?”

“I am fine.” Charlie wasn’t convinced. Damian looked anything but okay. She wanted to give him a hug, but she figured that would hurt more than it would help.

“C’mon,” she said holding out her hand. Damian took it and they went to the media room. She walked a bit more slowly, knowing that he would keep up with her no matter the pain it may cause. Damian sat down and Charlie went to the movie cabinet. “What’re you in the mood for,” she asked him, after staring at the sheer number of movies in awe. Damian didn’t respond. She looked over and saw him sleep on the sofa. She shrugged. She was still going to watch a movie. Maybe he’d wake up during it. Jason walked into the room.

“Victory is mine,” he stated proudly.

“What,” Charlie asked.

“Little guy didn’t get much sleep last night for obvious reasons and trained with Ra’s for two hours. I couldn’t get him to rest, but he’s been foiled by the amazing Jason Todd.” Charlie giggled.

“I can still watch a movie, right?” Jason laughed.

“Totally. Damian must like you.” She looked confused. 

“How do you figure?”

“He’s an assassin. You think he falls asleep around just anyone?” Charlie blushed. Jason left and Charlie chose the movie she wanted to watch. She sat by Damian. He laid down on her lap shortly after. She carded her hands through his hair and watched the movie as he slept.

… 

Damian slept until early afternoon. He ate lunch with Charlie, and then she left. His body still ached, but he ignored it. He needed to practice a move his grandfather showed him before his mother came. As he was heading to the cave he was intercepted by Tim. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“To the cave, Drake.”

“What for?”

“Training of course.” Damian smirked.

“No you’re not.” Tim stood in his way.

“Why do you all insist on bothering me?” Damian would have crossed his arms, but the pain would not have been worth it.

“You’re hurt. Just go rest.”

“I did rest, and now I need to practice a move that Grandfather needs perfected.”

“Why?”

“Because he requested it.” Tim rolled his eyes.

“Ra’s can wait. C’mere.” Tim walked towards his room. Damian followed out of curiosity. Tim handed him a small, ornate box with holes in it. “Happy Birthday by the way.”

“You know I do not actually have a birthday, correct? I never exited through a womb and was born.” Tim looked confused. “After obtaining Father’s specimen Mother had her eggs harvested and I was grown in vitro for the first year of my life.”

“Oh,” Tim said awkwardly.

“Yes, but the gesture is appreciated.” Tim smiled.

“Open it.” Damian opened the box to find a gerbil. He smirked.

“Thank you.” Tim’s jaw dropped.

“You say ‘thank you’?”

“I have the ability to say it and I do when I want to, Drake.”

“Wow,” Tim said. He handed Damian the cage and food that he bought to go along with the gerbil, and Damian set it up. He then went to try to train again, but Tim stopped him. “You really can’t train, Damian. Haven’t you already done it today anyway?”

“Drake, I’ve told you why I have to train. Let me or feel my wrath.” Tim laughed.

“You can’t fight me. You can barely stand.” Damian grabbed Tim and flipped him into the ground. Tim tried to get up, but Damian had him pinned down. Damian felt excruciating pain, but he didn’t back down. 

“I can stand, Drake. My injuries in no way impair my technique.”

“Damian, you’re gonna burst your stitches.”

“I’m fine, Drake.” Dick came through the hallway.

“Dami, you’re gonna hurt yourself and Tim. Get off him.” Damian got off Tim. Dick helped Tim up. “What’re you guys fighting about?”

“Damian’s trying to train,” Tim smugly.

“Dami,” Dick sighed while running his right hand through his hair

“You all need to mind your own business.” 

“Don’t make me drug you,” Dick threatened.

“You can’t. Mother is coming to see me again later,” Damian gasped. Dick smirked.

“Then you better stay out of the cave. If I find you there, it’s sleepy by.” Damian scoffed, but went in his room. 

 

He was in a lot of pain. Especially after pinning Tim down. They tried to give him pain meds, but Damian felt they were for weaklings. He laid on his bed slowly. He decided to take a nap until his mother came. Damian woke up to his mother carding her hands through his hair. “My love,” she said adoringly.

“Mother.” He got up. She hugged him softly, but he still winced. 

“Your Father tells me you don’t use pain medication. Why?”

“I do not need it.”

“You may if you wish. Ra’s will not bother you over it.” Damian nodded.

“Where are we going?”

“May we just stay here?” Talia was a caring mother. She didn’t want Damian to be in pain.

Damian nodded. All he really wanted was to spend time with his mother. He didn’t care what they did. Talia pulled out a book of bedtime stories made long ago. They’d been passed down by the women of the House of al Ghul for centuries. “Pick a story,” Talia said as she opened the book to its table of contents. Damian chose one and she read. Damian enjoyed this so much that even though he was tired he fought to keep his eyes open as long as he could. However, Damian eventually succumbed to sleep in his mother’s arms.


End file.
